


Smoke and Machinations

by Shatterpath



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-05-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 23:16:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1666106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Conflict once more brings together the odd dynamic of Emma and Regina in defense of what it theirs.</p>
<p>Warnings: This piece is a bit dark and disjointed for me, but I do like to push my own boundaries!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smoke and Machinations

**Author's Note:**

> Giftee: Mastiffgirl  
> Rating: PG13 for some violence.  
> Spoilers: Tried to keep to the canon of Emma and Regina starting to see eye to eye over time.
> 
> Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Time," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Once Upon a Time," ABC, or any representatives of the actors.
> 
> Notes: This piece was written as a moderator gift and was inspired by the prompts (per recipient): Fighting to win at something. Survival, but not depressing survival. Humor! Loves me some great, gothic, morose, dark humor. And irony. Ironic situations are awesome. Especially reverse-dramatic humor (where the audience doesn't know what the characters know. I like the tension between Emma and Regina in the fight to be Henry's only mother. But to me, it's not like romantic tension. So it would be cool to have a scenario where they are fighting viciously  
> Now, perhaps I tried a little too hard here, but it certainly ended up being an interesting piece. With a great many unanswered questions!

It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

Dazed and winded, hurting in ways both familiar and completely new, Regina gasped for air. Her brain was screaming at her exhausted, aching body to get up, get back in there and fight for what was hers. But even a slightly blurry glance at Henry could no longer charge her with desperation and adrenaline. His empty, dead eyes and expressionless face had rendered her numb at last. Only that shining cube, pulsing with life, meant anything now. Could her Little Prince survive even this?

"Get up," Emma snarled hoarsely and Regina rolled her head over to look at the blonde. "Get up, damn you! We're not losing this because you wussed out!"

Where is all your strength now, Regina had to ask herself silently. All the fire and rage and desperation that drove you like a force of nature. Perhaps Mother was right and love is weakness after all. 

Smirking utterly devoid of humor, Regina dug deep in reserves that were little more than smoke and hot air, and somehow rose to her feet. Even shaking with fatigue she managed to find her voice, fire a tired volley at her familiar opponent. "'Wussed out' Miss Swan? Really? Since we've been reduced to little more than comic book entertainment, however, I'll give you that one. You'll forgive me if I don't cackle madly, won't you?"

The crackle of arcane energy nearly got her, deflected away and leaving strands of dark hair smoking with its passing.

"Good one, Swan," Regina sneered, impossibly finding just a few more dregs of energy, her hands beginning to glow. "You caught me monologuing. But you missed."

Shouting the last word, she blasted out, feeling as though the dark shreds of her damaged soul left through her fingertips, dark power lashing out at Emma.

To Regina's horror, her pale counterpart picked that moment to waver, only for a moment, the earthy green eyes-- so like her mother's and Henry's-- going unfocused. With an audible screech of sound, a dull thud, the spontaneous outpouring of fear and anger and sheer terror struck Emma like a hammer.

Sprawling and skidding away, Emma came to rest in a awkward pile, her body still amid a cloud of dust. 

The silence was absolute, the moment before the gasps and sobs lingering endlessly in Regina's frozen mind. This was no victory, merely a vicious, demeaning execution for another's entertainment.

The choking sob shocked Regina, closed up her throat and flooded her eyes. She had not known how to feel about Emma Swan for a very long time, her emotions a storm of conflict, but the damn Savior had become familiar, somehow necessary to the woman she had grown into. Not good, but no longer her evil self either. That complicated new soul she'd grown was hurting, far more than her damaged body and ruined magic reserves. For something integral had been taken from her; the flawed Savior she had pushed against for so long that she had come to lean on her instead.

"Congratulations," spoke that hateful voice of smoke and machination. Really, Regina should be used to it after a lifetime of being manipulated. With a crystalline clink, the cube landed beside Emma's still body.

Torn emotionally in too many directions, Regina could not move. It felt as though the ground had fallen away and she was ready to fall into the abyss. 

Trembling with fatigue and an emotional excess, Regina crawled pathetically over to Emma and slapped ineffectively at her bruised shoulder.

"We did it, damn you," she whispered, surprised to feel the heat of the cube pulse in her hand, so very like a stolen heart. "Don't you bail on me now. He needs you."

Mouth twisting amid the streaks of unexpected tears, Regina felt the words claw their way free, making her throat ache.

"I need you. Because, somehow, impossibly, you and Henry have made it too hard to be alone anymore."

"Sweet talker."

The words shocked her, brown eyes blinking as the blonde head rolled over to reveal a squinting green gaze.

"Yeah, I feel the same way. Now, let's see if we can get up together and get our kid before getting the hell out of here."

Disconcertingly relieved to not find herself alone once more, Regina nodded silently and once more leaned hard on Emma, only to find her rival leaned back with just as much force.

And together, they rose once more.

**Author's Note:**

> _These are my personal notes and sundry, as well as the initial feedback from my recipient. Just for posterity y'know._
> 
> (From Mastiffgirl)   
> RECEIVING:  
> My preferred gift would have the following: (big-picture general stuff like kittens, happy endings, first kisses, etc.)  
> Fighting to win at something  
> Survival, but not depressing survival  
> Humor! Loves me some great, gothic, morose, dark humor. And irony. Ironic situations are awesome. Especially reverse-dramatic humor (where the audience doesn't know what the characters know. For instance, if Regina was holding Henry hostage from Emma because of something Henry said, make me guess what it was Henry said by the actions Regina and Emma were taking. I know it's super confusing, but it would be a good challenge for a great writer!)
> 
> Favorite characters: Regina and Emma  
> Favorite pairings: Regina and Emma (but not romantic)
> 
> My highest rating preference: PG-13  
> Deal Breakers: Any sexual stuff (which I know is opposite of the whole point of this comm, but like I say: I'm not into femme-slash anymore)
> 
> List three to five prompts: So maybe something revolving around the phrase "until we meet again" like they're battling each other in an arena or something, I don't know. LOL! (Kinda high on watching "The Hunger Games", here..) 
> 
> Oh sweet! Ok. I like the tension between Emma and Regina in the fight to be Henry's only mother. But to me, it's not like romantic tension. So it would be cool to have a scenario where they are fighting viciously (as if they aren't already) to be his only mother. And I'd be open to fic or graphics or whatever :) 
> 
>  
> 
> (Mastiffgirl feedback) Ohhh mah word, woman!! This is amazing. Really dark and mystical. I had to read it twice to really get what was going on, which is a great compliment being that I had a request for reverse-dramatic irony!!! 
> 
> This is what I got from it, so I hope I got it right (if not, don't worry--I'm really bad at reading into stuff):
> 
> I got the idea that they are in like a gladiator arena dueling it out to the death and that the cube is some kind of life-force that was stolen from Henry (much like how his heart was taken from him by Pan and put into the Pandora's Box). I got that Regina is still coming to terms with the fact that she needs Emma and Henry to continue to keep her true to her word that she would become a good person for Henry, and that she doesn't really realize how much she needs Emma to keep herself in check and get their son back and revive him until they've won. I can totally see them getting up, snarling at each and every one of the audience members, and giving the finger as they walked out with Henry. *Booyah, bitches!*
> 
> I LOOOOVED the "Sweet talker" bit omg.. SO like Emma to say that! There are so many great quotes in this! You should really consider writing fiction for profit! You're a great story-teller and can really write to suit your recipients' requests. 
> 
> *10 thumbs up* 
> 
> (I said) Happy squees! So glad you liked this! It just sort of poured out of me real sudden-like as some stories will do. Basically wrote itself to be honest. Even I really don't know what was going on, but I was so intrigued over that idea of the audience stumbling into a situation halfway through. And the muses even fed me banter! So much win! My personal fave in addition to 'sweet talker' of course, was 'You caught me monologuing." Made myself laugh with that one. And I love your scenario with them walking out and flipping off the audience is PERFECT. I may steal some of your awesome feedback to tack onto the fic when I put it on AO3!
> 
> Thank you so much for the great words and I'm thrilled you like it!


End file.
